1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tracked vehicle with an engine, a pair of track sprockets driven by the engine, a main transmission for transmitting power from the engine to the track sprockets, the main transmission having at least two gears and being used for steering, and a pair of lateral intermediate transmissions between the main transmission and the track sprockets.
2. Description of the Related Art
The practice of fitting tracked vehicles with automatic main transmission and lateral intermediate transmissions on both sides of the drive that adapt the rotational speeds to the track sprockets is well known. On certain tracked vehicles with conventional main transmissions, which can be operated both in normal driving mode at high speed and in a special working mode at low speed, the transmission wears rapidly because the start-up gears selected for the working speeds are not designed for continuous operation.
Given this situation, it is the object of the invention to create a tracked vehicle that is fitted with a conventional main transmission and can be used both for low working speeds and for normal driving speeds while avoiding excessive wear of the main transmission.
According to the invention, each lateral intermediate transmission has at least two gears and a final drive between the at least two gears and the respective track sprocket.
By virtue of the arrangement according to the invention, it is possible in an advantageous manner to provide tracked vehicles that are to be operated both at low working speeds and at normal driving speeds, e.g. 70 km/h, with conventional main transmissions for steering and gear changing such as those which are supplied as standard by manufacturers of transmissions. As a result, it is possible to equip and operate such tracked vehicles economically since there is no need either for expensive special designs for a specific main transmission or for frequent expensive replacement of worn-out transmissions.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.